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artzone January - July 2014
Editor’s
Message
artzone is published twice a year by
NUS Centre For the Arts
University Cultural Centre
50 Kent Ridge Crescent
National University of Singapore
Singapore 119279
Tel: (65) 6516 2492
Fax: (65) 6778 1956
email: cfamarketing@nus.edu.sg
website: www.nus.edu.sg/cfa
artzone is a printed complementary guide to
its electronic version which features CFA’s listings.
To subscribe to the e-version, send us an email with
your particulars to cfamarketing@nus.edu.sg
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at 6516 6787 or email adelinetan@nus.edu.sg
© 2014 NUS Centre For the Arts
No part of this publication may be reproduced in
any form without prior permission from
NUS Centre For the Arts. The opinions expressed
in artzone do not necessarily reflect
those of the publisher.
Thanks for picking up the 20th issue of artzone! It is a milestone moment.
This issue, we spotlight the 9th NUS Arts Festival and its quality new works that bring
together arts professionals and student talents. Themed “Consumed”, the Festival will
feature Singapore talents Oon Shu An, Tim Nga, T.H.E Second Company, Albert Tiong
and Re:Dance Theatre, Brian Gothong Tan, Adrian Tan among others. International
talents include Edith Podesta (Australia), Akiko Kitamura (Japan), Idan Cohen (Israel) and
Nassim Soleimanpour (Iran/Singapore). Look out for them in Festival commissions and
highlights exploring whether it is possible to consume without being consumed.
Check out our back cover to win tickets to the Fest highlight, Traces.
Our free admission ExxonMobil Campus Concerts series returns with performances by
Frontier Danceland and student talents from King Edward VII Hall Chinese Drama,
NUS Dance Blast! (hip hop group) as well as a contemporary and Malay dance
collaboration between NUS Dance Synergy and NUS Ilsa Tari.
We continue to cover the thriving arts scene on campus. Take a peek at the artistic
talents and activities of Eusoff Hall and the College of Alice & Peter Tan.
From batiks to lighthouses, NUS Museum is full of new exhibitions this semester.
Find out more on pages 21 – 23.
We’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions. Do drop us a line at
cfamarketing@nus.edu.sg.
Table of Contents
04
14
NUS Arts Festival
• Dramatically Con$umed
• Boldly Creative
Arts on Campus
• Arts and Culture bring
Spark to Hall Life
• CAPTains
Editorial Team
Advisor
Christine Khor
Editors
Dinah Ng
Adeline Tan
TICKETS NOW ON SALE
30 APR – 25 MAY 2014 | FORT CANNING PARK
www.sistic.com.sg
Contributors
Chang Yueh Siang
Charlene Tan
Cindy Lin Kaiying
Fiona Tan
Lalwani Poonam
College of Alice & Peter Tan
Eusoff Hall
On the cover
Oon Shu An and Timothy Nga,
Con$umed, NUS Arts Festival 2014
10
17
21
ExxonMobil Campus
Concerts
• 3 Frontier Gems
Tan Ean Kiam Arts
Awards 2013
11
20
Arts Calendar
• Arts On Campus
• NUS Arts Festival 2014
NUS Baba House
5th Anniversary
(2008 - 2013)
NUS Museum Exhibitions
• Re-thinking Community through Art Making
• In Search of Raffles’ Light
• Capturing Ideas and Change On Paper
About CFA
Established in 1993, NUS Centre For the Arts (CFA) is a multifaceted arts organization that
nurtures triple arts—performing, visual and literary—on campus and beyond.
CFA’s Vision
For the NUS community to be informed participants in global society, through engagement with
the arts and an understanding of cultural diversity.
CFA’s Roles
• PROGRAMMING - CFA presents an active events calendar year-round that adds vibrancy to
campus life.
• TALENT DEVELOPMENT - CFA manages and nurtures undergraduates and alumni groups in
music, dance, drama, visual arts, film-making and production.
• VENUE HIRE - CFA manages venues and facilities suitable for world-class arts performances,
exhibitions, academic and corporate conferences and other lifestyle activities.
• CONSULTANCY - CFA provides consultancy on arts and entertainment, as well as project
management and curating expertise for the campus and beyond.
To join CFA Groups, contact Sheila at 6516 6114.
PRESENTING SPONSOR
PRODUCTION SPONSOR
PATRON SPONSOR
CORPORATE SPONSORS
OFFICIAL CARD
3
NUS ARTS FESTIVAL
artzone January - July 2014
An All-Consuming
NUS Stage’s Play Out: A Double Bill matches well known artists
Julius Foo, Gerald Chew and Lok Meng Chue with works by
young alum playwrights Joanna Hioe and Judy Au on the theme
of lineage. Led by Li Xie, NUS Chinese Drama will present an
original Mandarin script for a forum theatre experience on
violence against women.
ARTS FESTIVAL
NUS Arts Festival (NAF) returns on 14 – 29 March to transform the University Cultural
Centre (UCC) into an artistic treasure trove. Take your pick from a lively Fest calendar
of 28 Fest offerings, more than half which are free admission.
Con$umed
Presented by NUS Centre For the Arts (CFA), this year’s
NUS Arts Festival is intriguingly themed “Consumed,” and offers
food for thought about what we consume and what consumes
us. It promises a wild rollercoaster ride through our favourite
pre-occupations like shopping and eating and more metaphysical
concerns about the nature of man. Can we consume without
being consumed?
The Festival opens with Overdrive: A Triple Bill which presents
NUS dancers working in tandem with T.H.E. Dance Company’s
Second Company under the careful eye of awardwinning
choreographer Idan Cohen (Israel), Akiko Kitamura (Japan)
with guest artists HORSE Dance Theatre 骉马剧场 (Taiwan).
Kitamura (a critically acclaimed leader of Japanese contemporary
dance) working with leading Indonesian and Japanese artists is
also featured in To Belong -cyclonicdream- a multidisciplinary
evocation of how the old world and the present are connected in
our human bodies.
The Festival’s fringe features free film screenings at the UCC
Courtyard and live music gigs by local musicians and campus
stars. The eclectic lineup of musicians includes ShiLi and Adi,
Clarence Liew, John Lye as well as NUS Angklung Ensemble,
Piezo Quartet and NUS CAC Sub-clubs. NUS Halls of Residence
promise a night of heart-thumping music with the annual
RockFest 2014. In addition, film buffs can look forward to 2 films
presented in partnership with the Embassy of Israel.
White Rabbit Red Rabbit
Maestro
Traces
NUS Dance Synergy’s first full length collaboration with Re:Dance
Theatre and Albert Tiong for Traces is inspired by Chinese
Literature Nobelist Gao Xing Jian’s The Other Shore《彼岸》.
NUS Indian Dance and NUS Indian Instrumental Ensemble’s
inaugural collaboration fuses dance and music, featuring works
by famous Indian flautist and composer B. V. Balasai and Cultural
Medallion recipient and choreographer Santha Bhaskar.
To Belong
-cyclonicdream-
Theatre fans are not left out. For the Festival Closing Show
Con$umed, theatre practitioners like Edith Podesta (Australia),
Brian Gothong Tan, Adrian Tan, Oon Shu An and Tim Nga will
work with 16 NUS actor-playwrights to create a world where
consumerism supersedes all moral codes. Described by the
Fringe Review as “a stunning piece” of theatre, thoughtprovoking and unsettling. A wonderful testament to the power
of words to transcend cultures and borders.“White Rabbit Red
Rabbit by Nassim Soleimanpour (Iran/Singapore) is an intriguing
play where the actors, Paula Sim, Shiv Tandan, Oliver Chong,
Nora Samosir and Li Xie will see the script for the first time just
before performance.
Photo by Samuel Cheng
T’ang Quartet
Read our interviews with Edith Podesta (Fest Closing Con$umed)
on page 6 and Akiko Kitamura (Fest Opening Overdrive and To
Belong -cyclonicdream-) on page 9. Pull out the Fest calendar on
page 12 and 13 and check out our back cover for a chance to win
tickets to Traces by NUS Dance Synergy and Re:Dance Theatre
with choreographer Albert Tiong. ■
For more information, please visit www.nusartsfestival.com or
find us on Facebook (nusartsfestival). Tickets available from
SISTIC from 17 January 2014. Ticketing concessions are available.
Akiko Kitamura
4
Classical music lovers will enjoy Chopin: Passion & Death
performed by Singapore’s exceptional young talents like cellist
Loke Hoe Kit, and pianists Jonathan Shin and Victor Yeh. Also
featured is The T’ang Quartet’s fourth edition of Highly Strung
and NUS Piano Ensemble’s Maestro. The Ensemble’s theatrical
concert features the second movement of Holbrooke’s Piano
Concerto No. 1 for the first time in a dual piano arrangement.
There will also be familiar CFA music groups like NUS Piano
Ensemble, NUS Guitar Ensemble and NUS Harmonica Orchestra
adding to the variety of musical offerings.
Wanderlust
Chudar: Shiva’s Fire
5
NUS ARTS FESTIVAL
artzone January - July 2014
Dramatically Con$umed
Con$umed
Theatrical collaboration between Multimedia Designer
Brian Gothong Tan, Lighting Designer Adrian Tan and
Theatre Director Edith Podesta with NUS Talents
Fri & Sat, 28 & 29 Mar, 8pm, UCC Theatre, $29 & $23
An interview with Edith Podesta
On 28 – 29 March, awardwinning theatre director
Edith Podesta, Young Artist Award recipient
Ticket prices exclude SISTIC booking fee and will be
available at SISTIC from 17 Jan 2014. For more information,
please visit www.nusartsfestival.com.
Brian Gothong Tan and Life! Theatre Award
nominee Adrian Tan – together with professional
actors and NUS talents – will create a world where
consumerism supersedes all moral codes.
artzone interviews Con$umed’s director and
theatre faculty at LASALLE College of the Arts
Edith Podesta about Con$umed, the NUS Arts
Festival Closing Show.
Eugene Tan
1. As we are interviewing you, the auditions were just over.
Could you share the process of selecting 16 actor-scriptwriters
and 5 assistant directors from the auditions? Were there tough
choices to be made?
There are always tough choices, especially this time round,
because there were so many talented, intelligent, creative
people auditioning for Con$umed. I was excited by the
passionate discussions I had with the assistant directors, and by
the raw talent of the actors. I was constantly surprised by the fact
that the majority of people who wanted to be part of the creative
process were undergoing Economics and Law degrees.
2. What do you hope they will take away from Con$umed?
I hope each individual encounters what they sought to
experience by auditioning for Con$umed. Some members
of the ensemble are seeking to continue their passion and
education into theatre that started in co-curricular activities and
amateur theatre groups. Other members have already worked in
professional theatre and hope to discover new ways of devising
through this process.
Tim Nga
6
3. We understand the play’s topic of consumerism came to
your mind quite quickly when you first learnt of the Festival’s
“Consumed” theme. How much of your own views do you think
will come into this production versus the student playwrights’
view? Do you anticipate any conflicts of opinion and how would
Con$umed’s creative process resolve this?
I don’t have all the answers, nor do I wish to advocate absolutes
when it comes to a production’s subject matter. Working with
a large ensemble is refreshing because the actors open up the
production’s thesis to multiple points of view. One idea is not
excluded at the expense of others during the devising process.
I believe that the actors will be entering the process with their
own opinions, education and desires, and that these multiple
perspectives will resonate with disparate audience members; “
to hold as ‘twere the mirror up to nature”. I see myself as editor,
patching together the final script, and steering the general
direction of the rehearsal process, but the meat of the script will
be written by the actors.
The topic came to mind during a holiday in June 2013 in
the northern most province of the Philippines: Batanes.
Batanes for me was a pleasant culture shock. There is no
unemployment, 75% of the population is employed in agriculture
and fishing, the rest of the working population are mainly
employed by the government. In some circumstances the
barter system is still in use. No one is without a home and on
weekends, neighbours get together to build a dwelling if need
be, in exchange for food from the families’ farm or bags of rice.
Credit cards are not accepted, there is no crime and tourism is
kept to a minimum. The island is circumnavigated by one road,
and when a child is born, the family will invest in a cow to pay for
the child’s college education. Seeing how people lived, I started to question the difference
between my needs and my wants. I was so taken aback on my
return from the Philippines by the overconsumption and the daily
paradox of choice that I started to research into consumerism,
and what I found shocked me.
Onn Shu An
4. You are a founder of the theatre group A Group of People
which based its training and working philosophy on the Suzuki
Method of Actor Training and Anne Bogart’s Viewpoints,
exploring training methodologies and collaborative
approaches to the creation of performance. How much do
you anticipate two methodologies will influence your direction
in Con$umed?
Viewpoints and Composition will be used as tools of
creation throughout the rehearsal process of Con$umed.
The Viewpoints are a set of names adapted by theatre
directors Anne Bogart and Tina Landau, used to describe
what happens on stage. Composition is a way of creating and
arranging work into a cohesive performance.
I am also influenced by the devising and directing methods
of theatre and opera director Barrie Kosky, Artistic Director of
opera company Komische Oper Berlin, and writer and director
for film and theatre Jim Sharman (The Rocky Horror Picture
Show). The ways in which I work with text is influenced by the
work of several poets such as Kenneth Goldsmith, William
S. Burroughs, and Robert Desnos, and the writing process
and style of Leigh Fondakowski, Head Writer of the Emmy
nominated The Laramie Project.
The text will be generated by both the actors and myself.
Each week the actors will be assigned a writing exercise that
considers a particular viewpoint of consumer culture or examine
a more personal account of consumerism through writing,
improvisation and composition. The writing the actors do will
then lead me to my next set of questions and avenues
for investigation. 5. Could you share with us Eugene’s Tan’s dual contributions to this
play? We’ve seen a most intriguing photo of Eugene putting some
Good Morning! towels to very creative use.
Performance artist Eugene Tan will transform into Becca D’Bus
at various times during this performance, donning several
outrageous costumes, and embodying different characters.
The subject of fashion and conspicuous consumption will feature
both visually and textually in the production.
6. What can we look forward to in this unique theatrical
collaboration between yourself, Brian Gothong Tan and Adrian Tan? It is always exciting to collaborate with artists from a different
discipline than your own. I have collaborated with both Adrian and
Brian before, but this is the first production where I’ll be working
with them both at the same time, and it is set to be a visual
feast. Both designers will be creating as the rehearsal process
progresses, so that the design becomes integral to the final miseen-scène. Lights, video, costume and sound, for me, are of the
same importance as text, bodies in space, and voice. ■
For the full version of this interview, please visit our blog at
www.cfa.nus.edu.sg or find us on Facebook.
Other theatre offerings at NUS Arts Festival 2014
White Rabbit Red Rabbit
Nassim Soleimanpour
An Aurora Nova Production
Fri – Sun, 21 – 23 Mar, 8pm
UCC Dance Studio, $20
Additional 3pm performances on
Sat & Sun, 22 – 23 Mar, $15
Don’t miss this unique a play that requires no
director, no set, no rehearsals and a different
actor reading the script cold for the first time at
each performance. White Rabbit Red Rabbit will
be performed by Oliver Chong, Nora Samosir,
Li Xie (Mandarin) and NUS Students.
Please refer to www.nusartsfestival.com
for cast schedule.
Just a Bad Day《阴天》
NUS Chinese Drama 国大华语戏剧
Fri – Sun, 14 – 16 Mar, 8pm
UCC Dance Studio, $15
Drawing from real life accounts, NUS Chinese
Drama’s forum theatre aims to raise greater
awareness about violence against women and
to provide a fresh perspective to both women
and men about how to take personal action
against this.
Play Out: A Double Bill
NUS Stage with Julius Foo, Gerald Chew &
Lok Meng Chue
Sat & Sun, 22 & 23 Mar, 8pm
UCC Theatre, $23 & $19
Additional 3pm performance on Sun 23 Mar
Candlelight by Joanna Hioe and Wai by Judy Au
involve the expression of nostalgic retrospection
and poignancy about the human condition when
change is the only constant.
Presented in-conjunction with International
Women’s Day.
7
NUS ARTS FESTIVAL
NUS ARTS FESTIVAL
Simply Classic
artzone January - July 2014
BOLDLY CREATIVE
Choreographer, dancer and educator, Akiko Kitamura is a pioneer in Japan’s Contemporary
NUS Arts Festival
(18 - 19 March) at the NUS Arts Festival 2014.
lineup of unique works
A dance connection
this March.
Victor Yeh
She presents two works, Emotional Strata (14 - 15 March) and To Belong –cyclonicdream–
unveils a delightful
and talented musicians
Loke Hoe Kit
Dance scene and the founder of cutting edge contemporary dance company, Leni-Basso.
Specially commissioned for the Fest, Emotional Strata is a
video-dance piece which promises a unique multimedia show
of Akiko’s distinct style. Seven NUS dancers were picked
from auditions and underwent nine weeks of rehearsals. This
collaboration is one example of the Festival’s aim to create
opportunities for students to work with professional artists.
Emotional Strata will premiere as one of three items at the
Festival Opening Show, Overdrive: Triple Bill (14 & 15 Mar).
The other two items will feature the choreography of Idan Cohen
(Israel) and Taiwanese group HORSE Dance Theatre 骉马剧场.
Maestro
Chopin: Passion & Death
Victor Yeh, Loke Hoe Kit & Jonathan Shin
Thu 20 Mar, 8pm, Conservatory Concert Hall,
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, $19
Akiko (below), who teaches Arts Communication at Shinshu
University in Japan, is no stranger to working with youths.
“I want my students to gain knowledge and to think and feel
how art can enrich a person’s life, how we can connect with
others through dance. Emotional Strata will be created through
the new relationship I build with the NUS Dancers,” she says.
Maestro
NUS Piano Ensemble
Tue 25 Mar, 8pm, UCC Theatre, $19 & $16
Her work is a meditation on the effect of time and continuity
on people or objects we value, and offers reflections on the
2011 Tohoku Earthquake. Akiko elaborates: “When our daily life
and surroundings change in a split second, our relationships to
‘things’ that surround us also change. I am excited about how
this work will turn out.”
Dancing through cultures
In the Fest’s second weekend, Akiko will present a full length
work, To Belong –cyclonicdream– (18 & 19 Mar). This is the third
project in her To Belong series which started in 2012.
This collaboration involves Indonesian artists including
Yudi Ahmad Tajudin (Artistic Director, Teater Garasi), Rianto
(dance), Kill The DJ (music, Jogja Hip Hop Foundation),
Slamet Gundono (music), Endah Laras (music) and a team of
Japanese artists. Together, they present an energetic, lyrical
multilayered meeting of different cultures.
Mark your calendars for these two Festival gems to witness a
dynamic cross cultural tapestry of dance. ■
Highly Strung 4
T’ang Quartet
Fri 28 Mar, 8pm, UCC Dance Studio, $20
Ticket prices exclude SISTIC booking fee
and will be available at SISTIC from
17 Jan 2014.
Overdrive: Triple Bill
Photo by Samuel Cheng
T’ang Quartet
Chopin fans, rejoice! For the first time in Singapore,
NUS Piano Ensemble takes on a potent brew of four-hand
Chopin: Passion & Death brings together the three great mature
and eight-hand piano performance with theatrical storytelling
sonatas of Frédéric Chopin. Consumed and wracked by the
in Maestro (pictured above), a Faustian tale of a composer’s
ravages of tuberculosis, Chopin overcame his frail health by
struggle to make a living. As his publisher and patrons lose
creating great music of high passion. This amazing concert will
interest in his works, and a musical rival threatens his livelihood,
be brought to life by exceptional young musical talents like
Maestro grows increasingly bitter and resentful. In his darkest,
pianists Jonathan Shin, Victor Yeh, and cellist Loke Hoe Kit
weakest hour, he is tempted by his alter ego, a musical prodigy
(pictured above).
and maniac, to exchange his sanity for brilliance. The Ensemble
had presented Genius or Nuts? at NUS Arts Festival last year,
In the fourth installment of Highly Strung, the acclaimed
performing classical masterpieces which dissected the
T’ang Quartet (pictured above) brings an hour of musical fusion
ingenuity, the devilishness and the zaniness of the composers
powered by young talents and seasoned professionals.
behind them. This is an exciting sequel.
By NUS Dancers with Idan Cohen (Israel) &
T.H.E Second Company, Akiko Kitamura (Japan), and
HORSE Dance Theatre 骉马剧场 (Taiwan)
Fri & Sat, 14 & 15 Mar
8pm, UCC Theatre
$23, $29
To Belong –cyclonicdream–
By Akiko Kitamura (Japan/Indonesia)
Tue & Wed, 18 & 19 Mar
8pm, UCC Theatre
$23, $29
Tickets on sale at SISTIC from 17 Jan 2014.
For more details, visit www.nusartsfestival.com.
This programme is also a part of T’ang Quartet’s The Ensemble
Dimension Project, where young musicians undergo radical and
Enjoy classical music in ways you’ve never heard it before.
refreshed artistic growth under the Quartet’s nurturing guidance.
For more on the musicians and concerts, please visit
For the featured musicians in this installment, please visit the
www.nusartsfestival.com. ■
Fest site at www.nusartsfestival.com.
8
9
EXXONMOBIL CAMPUS CONCERTS
Photo by SQ Photography
ARTS CALENDAR
artzone January - July 2014
Arts On Campus
Find out what’s on in a glance!
3
Four Lustrums of Jazz
by NUS Jazz band
➤Sun 16 Feb, 8pm
UCC Theatre
$20 Email nusjazzband@gmail.com
for tickets
Reverence 2014
FRONTIER
GEMS
All exhibitions and programmes at
NUS Museum are free admission unless
otherwise indicated.
Inherited and Salvaged: Family Portraits
from the Straits Chinese Collection
All shows start at 8pm, UCC Theatre, NUS
unless otherwise indicated.
Miniatures
gems. Catch White, Bufo Alvarius and Compose, premiered during the company’s 2012/2013 season
Led by Artistic Director Low Mei Yoke, Frontier Danceland’s
Bufo Alvarius is a new work from Christina Chan (above, in
numerous works blend the strength and beauty of Asian
white), winner of SPROUTS 2011, Singapore’s first national
expression with Western contemporary dance. Since the
choreography competition. Chan has been lauded by Singapore
company was founded in 1991, it has been committed to
media and critics for her innovative choreography. Her recent
developing and presenting original works, weaving a rich
works include, Fat Room (pictured below) and Bufo Alvarius,
which premiered as a guest item at the SPROUTS 2014 finals
in January 2014. EMCC audiences will enjoy full and extended
White (pictured above), choreographed by Low, explores
By NUS Symphony Orchestra
➤Sun 9 Mar, 7.30pm
UCC Hall
$18 & $15 Email nusso.contact@gmail.com
for tickets
Free Admission. Tickets at the door 1 hour
before show on a first-come-first-served basis.
Limited to two tickets per patron. The audience
capacity for UCC Theatre is 400.
Frontier Danceland kicks off the new ExxonMobil Campus Concerts (EMCC) season with a triple bill of dance
tapestry of ideas from young dancers and choreographers.
For further event and ticket updates
please visit www.nus.edu.sg/cfa or find us
on Facebook (NUS Centre For the Arts).
work premiere of this piece.
a dystopian world of living in the absence of dreams. A
psychological thriller, the dance unravels experiences of
In Compose, young Taiwanese choreographer
dreamless days which rob life of meaning, purpose and hope.
Chang Chien-Kuei combines the art of a musician with the craft
of a dancer, looking at how a dancer might play his body like an
instrument, presenting movement as music through costumes
and props. This experimental piece was created during a
two-week residency with Frontier Danceland in May 2013, and
premiered at their flagship annual production, Sides.
Catch these diverse performances as they return to the stage on
22 Jan 2014, 8pm at the University Cultural Centre Theatre. For
more free admission dance performances this season, check out
by NUS Symphony Orchestra
➤Wed 15 Jan
Triple Bill: White, Bufo Alvarius and
Compose
by Frontier Danceland
➤Wed 22 Jan
Junoon
By NUS Indian Dance
➤Wed 29 Jan
#Firstworldproblems
By NUS Dance Blast!
➤Tue & Wed, 4 & 5 Feb
Ménage e 13
By King Edward VII Hall Chinese Drama
➤Wed & Thu, 12 & 13 Feb
SSFA Film Screening
Recent Gifts: Works and Documents of
Lim Mu Hue and Jimmy Ong
➤Till Jul 2014
Kebon Indah: Mintio & Kabul, Kelompok
Batik Tulis Sido Luhur, Collaboration
➤Till 30 Sep 2014
NUS Baba House
Between Here and Nanyang:
Marco Hsu’s Brief History of Malayan Art
➤Till 2015
‘Come cannibalize us, why don’t you?’
| Erika Tan
➤Till 4 May 2014
➤Till 6 Jul 2014
In Search of Raffles’ Light |
An Art Project with Charles Lim
➤Till 27 Apr 2014
Sculpting Life: The Ng Eng Teng
Collection
➤Ongoing
Biography of a Public Sculpture:
Salvaging and Conserving
➤Till 31 Mar 2014
Chinese Art Collection from the
Lee Kong Chian Museum
Collecting Histories
Sherd Library
➤Ongoing
By nuSTUDIOS Films Production
➤Fri 21 Feb, 8pm
Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium
Education Resource Centre, University Town,
NUS. Film ratings to be advised
Fiesta Rondalla 2014
By NUS Rondalla
➤Tue 25 Feb
Rhythm of Seasons
By NUS Dance Synergy & NUS Ilsa Tari
➤Wed & Thu, 5 & 6 Mar
our calendar on the next page.
For more on Frontier Danceland, please visit
www.frontierdanceland.com. ■
Triple Bill: White, Bufo Alvarius and Compose is free admission.
Tickets are available at the door (on a first-come-first-served
basis) 1 hour before showtime. Limited to two tickets per
Catch NUS Dance Blast!
on 4 and 5 Feb.
patron. The audience capacity for UCC Theatre is 400.
10
Programme info correct as at print. Please visit us at www.cfa.nus.edu.sg for the latest updates. All shows are open to public.
11
artzone January - July 2014
Venue
14 March (Fri)
15 March (Sat)
16 March (Sun)
18 March (Tue)
19 March (Wed)
20 March (Thu)
21 March (Fri)
22 March (Sat)
NUS Harmonica
Orchestra
8pm
28 March (Fri)
29 March (Sat)
Chudar –
Shiva’s Fire
NUS Dance
Synergy &
Re:Dance Theatre
with Albert Tiong
NUS Indian Dance
& NUS Indian
Instrumental Ensemble
8pm
8pm
Closing Show: Con$umed
Opening Show:
Overdrive: A Triple Bill
UCC
THEATRE
25 March (Tue)
Traces
Soirée 2014:
The Circle of Life
UCC
HALL
23 March (Sun)
To Belong
-cyclonicdream-
NUS Dancers with Idan Cohen,
& T.H.E Second Company,
Akiko Kitamura and
HORSE Dance Theatre
Play Out: A Double Bill
Maestro
Edith Podesta, Brian Gothong Tan &
Adrian Tan with NUS Talents
Akiko Kitamura
NUS Stage with Julius Foo,
Gerald Chew & Lok Meng Chue
NUS Piano
Ensemble
8pm
8pm
8pm with 3pm matinee on Sunday
8pm
8pm
White Rabbit Red Rabbit
Highly Strung 4
Nassim Soleimanpour
An Aurora Nova Production
T’ang Quartet
8pm with 3pm matinee performances on Sat & Sun
8pm
Just A Bad Day
UCC DANCE
STUDIO
NUS Chinese Drama
8pm
UCC
COURTYARD
Piezo Quartet
ShiLi & Adi
Free Admission
7pm
8pm
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
NUS CAC
Presents
RockFest:
Uprising
Amplified,
Resonance, and
Voices
NUS Halls of
Residence
7.30pm
8pm
Chicken Rice War
Tampopo
8pm
8pm
7pm
John Lye
UCC
FOYER
Free Admission
ShiLi & Adi
Marymount
Convent School
Choir
7pm
7pm
7pm
NUS Angklung
Ensemble
7pm
Inheritage & Salvaged: Family Portraits from the Straits Chinese Collection, NUS Museum
Moveable Feasts
Take Two
Clarence Liew
7pm
7pm
14 – 29 Mar, 10am – 10pm, UCC
In-conjunction
In-conjunction
Super Women
Vestige
7.30pm
Ngee Ann Kongsi
Auditorium,
Education Resource
Centre, UTown
Varsity Voices
2014: Pinnacle
NUS Chinese
Orchestra
The NUSChoir
7.30pm
Esplanade
Concert Hall
7.30pm
Esplanade
Concert Hall
Chopin:
Passion & Death
Wanderlust
OTHER
VENUES
NUS Guitar
Ensemble
(GENUS)
8pm
Conservatory
Concert Hall, YSTCM*
12
Information is accurate at the point of print. Programme may be subject to change without notice.
Visit www.nusartsfestival.com for updates, ticket prices, film ratings and other details.
* Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.
Loke Hoe Kit,
Jonathan Shin
& Victor Yeh
8pm
Conservatory
Concert Hall, YSTCM*
Super Women
7.30pm
Ngee Ann Kongsi
Auditorium, Education
Resource Centre,
UTown
A Matter of Size
(M18)
7.30pm
Ngee Ann Kongsi
Auditorium,
Education Resource
Centre, UTown
In Search of Raffles’ Light ❘ An Art Project with Charles Lim, NUS Museum
13
ARTS ON CAMPUS
TAN EAN KIAM ARTS AWARDS 2013
artzone January - July 2014
s
n
i
a
T
P
A
C
Though only just over a year old,
the College of Alice & Peter Tan is
establishing a remarkable and vibrant
cultural environment! Within the first 3
semesters, several interest groups have
sprung up to cater to a variety of artsy
interests including singing, dancing,
arts & crafts as well as a host of other
spontaneous creative initiatives.
otography
the CAPT Ph
W inner of
One such interest group is Guitarpella,
CAPT’s pioneer music group, which
combines guitar playing and singing.
With superb skill level, Guitarpella plays
all kinds of songs ranging from oldies
to evergreen, indie, pop, and ballads
with the aim of giving its members the
opportunity for musical exchange and
to showcase the many talents CAPT has
to offer. They have performed at many
internal and external events and have
most recently been invited to perform
at the NUSSU Sports Club Appreciation
Dinner. (Check out their hit performance
of Mirrors by Justin Timberlake on
YouTube!)
CAPTure serves as an opportunity for
new and budding photographers and
videographers alike to go on photography
trails together to explore new places.
Last semester they were mentored by
Samantha Tio, our Artist-in-Residence
(AiR). CAPTure also organized a CAPT
Photography Competition at the start of
the academic year.
While Han(DIY)craft is the main arts and
crafts club of the College, a uniquely
CAPT quirk has developed which is the
decoration of the lifts! Enter the CAPT
lifts at anytime throughout the year and
you’ll be captivated by the uplifting and
humorous lift decorations!
Competitio
TAN EAN KIAM AWARDS
The fifth Tan Ean Kiam Arts Awards was an elegant event that celebrated the NUS Centre For the Arts Groups’ quest
for excellence. The event held on 30 October 2013 was graced by Guest-of-Honour, NUS President Professor
Tan Chorh Chuan. Also in attendance were Mr Tan Keng Soon, Chairman of the Tan Ean Kiam Foundation, Associate
Professor Tan Teck Koon, Dean of Students from the Office of Student Affairs, NUS and CFA tutors and friends in
support of the award nominees.
First runner-up of the CAP
T Photography Competition
.
The College’s focus on community
engagement also holds true for the
direction of all interest groups in the
College. In October 2013, CAPTions, (a
dance group), taught a group of girls from
Beyond Social Services a hiphop dance
choreographed by our very own CAPTain,
Geraldine Wong!
Guitarpella
Looking ahead, CAPT is in the midst of
putting up Beauty World, an original
Singaporean musical by Michael Chiang
with music by Dick Lee. CAPT’s current
Artist-in-Residence Caleb Goh is
mentoring students in the production that
is slated for performance on 8 February!
So do look out for tickets and hope to see
you there! ■
Grace Ann Chua
Year 2
College of Alice & Peter Tan
For more on the College of Alice & Peter Tan,
please visit capt.nus.edu.sg
16
NUS President Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, Mr Tan Keng Soon, Chairman of the Tan Ean Kiam Foundation and
Ms Christine Khor, Director of NUS Centre For the Arts with invited guests, tutors and award recipients.
n.
The Tan Ean Kiam Foundation renewed
its commitment to continue the Arts
Awards for another five years. This will
enable CFA to continue to recognise
students’ excellence in the arts and arts
management.
award nominees for their resourcefulness,
leadership qualities, collaborative
teamwork, and spirit of enterprise.
“They are wonderful role models for
their peers in the NUS community and
beyond,” said Prof Tan.
“I am heartened to see how CFA student
artists have used their talent and passion
for the arts to interact with the world
around them. I hope the Tan Ean Kiam
Arts Awards will continue to encourage
tonight’s young arts leaders to participate
in the conversation of Singapore’s artistic
and cultural development,” praised
Mr Tan Keng Soon, the foundation’s chair.
Three fine examples are the evening’s
Student of the Year award winners.
Koh Swee Jin (NUS Symphony Orchestra),
Lim Min (NUS Chinese Dance) and
Gu Shimin (NUS Piano Ensemble) who
helped their respective groups to garner
commendable accolades.
Guest-of-Honour NUS President Prof
Tan Chorh Chuan emphasised NUS’s
commitment to enriching the arts and
culture on campus and praised the
Under their lead, NUS Symphony
Orchestra won second place in the
Symphony Orchestra Category at the 7th
Summa Cum Laude International Youth
Music Festival in July 2013. NUS Piano
Ensemble creatively infused theatrical
elements into their sell-out performance
Genius Or Nuts?. NUS Chinese Dance
presented Mirror.Moon《镜水月》in
which they collaborated with guest artist
Wang Cheng, China’s 1st Grade
Chroreographer. The group’s performance
won the Event of the Year Award.
Alumni of the Year award winners,
Gillian Goh (NUS Dance Synergy),
He Xiao (NUS Chinese Drama) and
Sum Yin Ngai (NUS Piano Ensemble) were
also applauded by friends and fellow CFA
members for their tireless contributions to
their groups.
Read on for more on the 2013 winners of
the Tan Ean Kiam Arts Awards.
Dance group
CAPTions warm
ing up
for a hip hop les
son with girls
from
Beyond Socia
l Services.
17
TAN EAN KIAM ARTS AWARDS 2013
artzone January - July 2014
Student
of theYear
Gu Shimin
Faculty of Engineering
(2013)
NUS Piano Ensemble
Lim Min
Faculty of Engineering,
Year 3
NUS Chinese Dance
Koh Swee Jin
School of Design and
Environment, Year 4
NUS Symphony Orchestra
Group
of theYear
NUS Symphony Orchestra
Alumni
of theYear
Goh Sufen Gillian
Class of 2004
Faculty of Science
NUS Dance Synergy
He Xiao
Class of 2011
Faculty of Engineering
NUS Chinese Drama
Sum Yin Ngai
Class of 2011
Faculty of Science
NUS Piano Ensemble
Event
of theYear
Mirror.Moon《镜水月》by NUS Chinese Dance
Photo by SQ Photography
18
19
NUS BABA HOUSE 5TH ANNIVERSARY
NUS MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
artzone January - July 2014
RE-THINKING Community
through ART MAKING
When first introduced to Malam Di Jari Kita (The Wax On Our Fingers), a series of art pieces produced through
collaborative efforts of contemporary artists Samantha Tio (Mintio), Budi Agung Kuswara (Kabul) with a community
of batik makers from Kebon Indah, Central Java, I was deeply intrigued but also perplexed by how communal art,
crafts and heritage could interact with one another. With modern photo portraits of batik makers superimposed
on batik prints, the notion of community seemed deeply convoluted with state and institutional discourses
surrounding rural life, its condition and the primacy of development.
Front Row, Right to Left: Mr Wee Lin, Ms Christine Khor (Director, NUS Centre For the Arts), Associate Professor Khoo Hoon Eng (Director of Special
Projects, Office of the President, Yale-NUS College), Dr Neo Peng Fu (Senior Lecturer, Asian Languages and Cultures Academic Group, NIE) and
Professor Zhou Min (Director, Chinese Heritage Centre)
NUS Baba House
Celebrates its 5th Anniversary
Throughout September 2013, visitors were treated to some of very best attributes of the NUS Baba House.
It was the heritage house’s 5th Anniversary, and staff looked into its past and legacy to organise memorable
events. Guests were treated to Special Weekend Tours which offered an opportunity to experience the antique
artefacts and furniture of the House followed by tea.
A new exhibition Kebon Indah featuring
artworks that combine photographic and
batik techniques was launched on
26 September 2013. The artworks are
the result of a collaboration between two
contemporary artists, Samantha Tio (Mintio)
and Budi Agung Kuswara (Kabul), and batik
makers of the Sido Luhur group from the
central Javanese village of Kebon Indah.
NUS Baba House benefactor Ms Agnes Tan and
former Singapore President, Mr S.R. Nathan, at the
opening of the House in September 2008.
Ms Christine Khor (Director, NUS Centre For the
Arts), Mr Peter Lee (Honorary Curator) and Dato’ Seri
Stephen Yeap (Penang heritage developer) at the
Baba House’s opening in September 2008.
20
An International Conference titled
“Peranakan Chinese Communities in the
Era of Decolonization and Globalization”
was held as part of the 5th Anniversary
events. It was the second international
conference co-organised by the NUS Baba
House, Chinese Heritage Centre (CHC)
and the National Library Board (NLB). The
inaugural conference Peranakan Chinese in
a Globalizing Southeast Asia: The cases of
Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in May
2009 discussed the recent developments
in the study of Peranakan Chinese in
three countries.
Family: Ibu Juminem, Ibu Tri Sugiarti, Ibu Hartini & Children, 2012, Cyanotype with batik tulis, natural dyes on cotton
Interweaving contemporary art with the making of batik in a Southeast Asian context
suggests an attempt by Mintio and Kabul to demarginalize female batik makers
entrenched in a system of commercialization. At first, I was sceptical of the extent of
agency that the participants – the batik makers – had within the setting of the project.
After all, contemporary forms of exploitation are varied and art is not removed from
such ills in our highly capitalized and fragmented society. However, I was to discover
that the kind of active exchange between Mintio and Kabul and the batik makers
was inclusive and sensitive to individual views and participation. In this context, the
internship was an insightful exposure to how community art is plausible in creating ad
hoc communities that aim to produce more utopian imaginings. ■
Attracting more than 100 delegates,
the conference examined the progress
in research on the Peranakan Chinese
in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The four panels focused on how the
communities have evolved or changed
in response to decolonization and
globalization. Each panel ended off
with zealous discussions by participants
with the speakers and with discussants
putting their perspectives forward to the
delegates.
Cindy Lin Kaiying is a 3rd year Southeast
Asian Studies Major and a student from
the University Scholars Programme at
NUS. During her internship with the
NUS Museum in 2013, Cindy worked on
research for the exhibition, Kebon Indah,
Mintio & Kabul, Kelompok Batik Tulis Sido
Luhur, Collaboration.
The 5th Anniversary events offered an
opportunity for everyone to reflect on
the many special moments that make up
the NUS Baba House’s rich timeline. ■
Visits to NUS Baba House are by
appointment only.
For more information, please visit
www.nus.edu.sg/museum/baba,
call [65] 6227 5731 or email
babahouse@nus.edu.sg
Kabul applying paraffin on the outline
areas where images will be printed.
Mintio (left) tracing motifs on cotton fabric with
Ibu Suminah looking on.
The Malam Di Jari Kita artworks were
generously donated by Ms Agnes Tan,
founding donor of NUS Baba House.
The exhibition is at the NUS Baba
House till Sep 2014. Visits to the House
are by appointment only. Please email
babahouse@nus.edu.sg for enquiries.
21
NUS MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
artzone January - July 2014
In Search of
CAPTURING
IDEAS AND
CHANGE ON
PAPER
Raffles’Light
Inspired by an encounter with a shell collector in 2009 and especially by a romantically framed solitary Raffles
Lighthouse against the vast ocean taken in the 1950s, the idea for an exhibition on this little-known lighthouse was
Recent Gifts: Works and Documents of
Lim Mu Hue and Jimmy Ong
born. In 2010, Raffles Lighthouse was selected as a thematic focus in the inaugural prep-room: things that may or
may not happen. Three years later, we are still in search of Raffles’ Light in this exhibition at the NUS Museum.
The exhibition features works acquired from the estate of the
The search for Raffles’ Light took
late Lim Mu Hue (1936 – 2008) and Jimmy Ong (b. 1964).
the research and curating team
The works by Lim are diverse – ranging from drawings,
through the usual repositories
paintings to woodblocks completed from the 1950s and
Jimmy Ong, Self portrait with Armarillas
(From Amoy Suite; 1986),
Lithograph, 57 x 38cm
and sources of history, including
historic maps, newspaper
after. The sketches and drawings by Ong were completed
between mid 1980s to early 1990s. These collections,
archives and standard accounts of
although distinct by range and depth, facilitate ways of
Singaporean histories. However,
understanding the practices of the two artists.
as time passed and the textual
Jimmy Ong’s Chinatown Suite sketches (a purchase made possible
through a donation by Ms Ann Mui Ling) appear to be conditioned
by a certain ‘journalistic’ urge: providing us an insight into the
artist’s thoughts and inspirations as he sketches on the move. Often
overlooked in favour of his woodblock prints, Lim Mu Hue had
developed an artistic style in the 1960s of rendering landscape
drawings from a bird’s-eye perspective. Drawing was likely favoured
as the medium of choice as it allowed for the quick capturing of rapid
landscape changes.
material accumulated, the
increasingly disembodied mass
of research demanded both a
contemporaneous intervention and
a broader artefactual basis.
Photo by Lim Chuan Fong 1959
We were fortunate to have come onboard, acclaimed visual artist
Charles Lim, who shared with the team a passionate appreciation
for maritime heritage, but who sees things in contemporaneous
terms, being a sailor with a strong affinity with Singapore’s
waters. Through his lines of inquiry, the search for Raffles’ Light
continued, and in many ways went beyond the confines of this
lighthouse which has guided ships entering the Singapore Straits
from the western entrance for more than 150 years. We were
never simply in search of the lighthouse, but what was missing
from the exhibition were the broader contexts to make this
legacy of colonialism relevant to a populace who has all but
forgotten about this southernmost tip of Singapore’s territory.
We searched out custodians of Singapore’s maritime heritage,
both past and present, and from there artefacts relating to both
the lighthouse and Singapore’s maritime legacy were amassed.
Together with the films made by Charles, which literally involved
him going out in sea on a boat in search of the lighthouse, our
search was finally presentable in an exhibition.
In some sense, the search for Raffles’ Light will never be
conclusively completed. What is on display is an explication of
this search, a search which encourages a radical reconsideration
of Singapore’s relation to the sea, through the focal point of this
lighthouse which in spite of its name, has faded out of
the public’s collective memory. The day that this search is
completed, will be a woeful day when we truly cut off ties with
our maritime surroundings.
Writings and artefacts have been mobilised from the Raffles
Museum of Biodiversity Research (NUS), Singapore Press
Holdings, National Archives of Singapore, Maritime and Port
Authority of Singapore, Navy Museum and selected private
collections. In Search of Raffles’ Light at the NUS Museum will
run till April 2014. ■
Together, the drawings and accompanying personal and journalistic
materials of both artists reveal their meticulous observations of details
in the spaces around them, be it Ong’s domestic or other interior
spaces, or Lim’s panoramic landscapes. Their body of works collected
and displayed here gives us an indication of the artists’ attitudes
towards their local environment and to the events that occurred in
their lives. ■
– Chang Yueh Siang, NUS Museum Curator
Jimmy Ong, Chinatown Suite V11: 1-4, from 1985,
Ink on paper, Variable dimension
The exhibition runs till 31 July 2014.
Fiona Tan is currently working at the National Archives of Singapore. Since her internship at the NUS Museum in 2010, when she
researched for Camping and Tramping Through the Colonial Archive: The Museum in Malaya (2010 – 2013), she has been working on
various late 19th century and early 20th century colonial sources for both academic and exhibition purposes.
She continues to revel in the open-ended possibilities of the colonial archives in generating unconventional histories and exhibits,
such as the Raffles Light project, which she worked on as a Curatorial Researcher.
22
Lim Mu Hue, Panoramic view of Jurong Industrial Estate, undated, pastel on paper, 49.8 x 65.3cm each
23
Five pairs of tickets are up for grabs to Traces!
Featuring NUS Dance Synergy and Re:Dance Theatre with choreographer Albert Tiong
TRACES
NUS Dance Synergy and Re:Dance Theatre with Albert Tiong (Choreographer)
Sat 22 Mar, 8pm, UCC Hall, $29, $23 & $19
It seems harder to survive today especially when modern life seems to revolve around the pursuit of success and wealth.
Traces compels us to re-think what makes life meaningful.
Drawing inspiration from Nobel Prizewinner Gao Xing Jian’s script The Other Shore《彼岸》, dancers from NUS Dance Synergy and
Re:Dance Theatre under direction of well-known choreographer Albert Tiong invite you to examine the tensions and contradictions
in human character, interpersonal relationships and societal values. While human beings value living in a community, most conflicts
arise out of human contact. Life is brief, like a candle flickers and extinguishes quickly. How then should we live?
Stand to win a pair of tickets by
answering the question below.
Traces is inspired by the script The Other Shore
《彼岸》. Who wrote this work?
Send your answer along with your name, NRIC and
mobile number to cfamarketing@nus.edu.sg by
1 March 2014. Winners will be notified by email
and phone.
About NUS Arts Festival 2014
Happening over three weeks from 14 to 29 March 2014,
the Festival returns for its 9th year, bringing over 25
shows, many of which are free.
Ticket sales for the Festival start
on 17 January 2014. Tickets are
available at SISTIC.
Find out more at
www.nusartsfestival.com or find us on
(nusartsfestival).
Scan this to visit
our Festival website.